


Dollrausers

by KV1789



Series: Dollrausers AU [1]
Category: Luftrausers, 少女前线 | Girls' Frontline (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Crossover: Girls' Frontline/Luftrausers, Future Fic, Gen, Somewhat grimdark, post-cyberpunk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-01-04 15:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18346553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KV1789/pseuds/KV1789
Summary: Modular T-Dolls manufactured from scrap and spare parts, the Dollrauser series are built for a variety of combat purposes, primarily harsh combat conditions. Cheap, yet retaining the capabilities of full-fledged Combat Dolls, commanders are encouraged to capitalize on their disposable nature... - Gerhardt & Krieger handbook c. 2132.





	1. Not the Frontline You Know

 

**Prologue**

* * *

 

[DOLLRAUSER ASSEMBLY MENU]

[TEMPLATES:]

[PISTOLRAUSER]

[LICHTRAUSER]

[STURMRAUSER]

[GEWEHRAUSER]

[MGRAUSER]

[SCHWERAUSER]

[PAKRAUSER]

[LASERAUSER]

[|STURMRAUSER| SELECTED]

[RAUSER WEAPON DATA: |M4A1 SOPMOD|]

[BODY MOD: |BLITZMENSCH|]

[CORE MOD: |GRENADE SPAMMER|]

[██████████ 100% TEMPLATE LOAD COMPLETE]

[AMOUNT: |1|]

[DEPLOY? |Y/N|]

[|Y|]

* * *

The clanking of metal and whirring of gears echoed throughout the manufacturing facility as the Dollrauser Assembly Facility hastily put together an aforementioned Dollrauser using a mishmash of T-Doll parts which were welded and bolted together into a Frankenstein's monster of a T-Doll. The new G&K recruits watched from behind reinforced glass as a salvaged IOP SOPMOD T-Doll head was attached onto the headless torso.

"What you ladies're looking at right now is how our Dollrausers are made!" their commanding officer said in a loud tone, so as to not let the sounds of machinery drown him out. "As they say: 'Recycling is good!' Our T-Dolls are not meant to look pretty or fuckable! That was the mistake IOP made years ago!"

"As members of Gerhardt & Krieger, our sole mission is to achieve victory swiftly and at any cost. As such, our Dollrausers are built the way they are: cheap and disposable. However, they are not Chinese-standard cheap! Oh no no. They're cheap but with quality! Each Dollrauser has enough firepower to level a town! Speed to outrun bullets! And most importantly of all, no fear! They shall fight on until their arms and legs are shot right off! And even then they'll still try to take the enemy down with installed explosives!"

The recruits listened attentively as the SOPMOD Sturmrauser was set onto a rack where a cable was plugged into the back of its head.

"To ensure that these Rausers of our do not rebel, we have implemented what we call the 'Proxy Link System'," the officer continued. "Each Rauser is linked to one of our RCCS field combat AI systems with multiple Dollrauser operating data. Through this, they will only follow our commands and ours alone."

The SOPMOD Sturmrauser was armed with a 3D-printed M4A1 SOPMOD then set onto a conveyer rack that led to a different part of the facility: the storage center., to await it's inevitable deployment.

"Keep this in mind, ladies. We are here to win, and win only! If we cannot, then we'll make sure the enemy loses as much as us! Is that clear?!"

The recruits stood up and saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

One recruit in particular, who was in the back row, looked intently at the Dollrauser. The head they used was still very much intact, which gave it an uncanny appearance in contrast to it's body, which was made of heavily battle-damaged, vaguely-matching limbs somewhat repaired to acceptable combat-readiness which were then hastily attached onto a torso of equal status. The artificial skin was heavily torn off, exposing the internal robotic structure of the Dollrauser, which was made of black skeletal metal alloy that had seen countless bullets and explosive fragments. On it's arm was a the red-orange armband of Gerhardt & Krieger, embossed with a similar material to the artificial skin used by the civilian model androids. The assembly line wrapped multiple grenade belts onto it's torso, part of the "Grenade Spammer" CORE mod. The lack of armor plating signaled that the Dollrauser was modfied for extra speed and agility, the Blitzmensch mod. The Rauser's eyes were open but lifeless as it was carried off with a skeptical look on the recruit's face.

Still saluting, the recruit sighed.

_Hmph. Another one to add to the slaughter._

* * *

_"DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1."_

"Ha~? Is it time!?"

The SOPMOD Dollrauser activated. It was in the cargo bay of what sounded like a large helicopter, judging from the sound of rotors coming from outside.

Attached to an android carrying rack with her gun strapped to her left, she looked left and right to see she was joined by six rows of four Dollrausers. Many were Pistolrausers, but there were a few Sturms, Gewehrs, MGs and Lichtrausers. However, she was in the very front.

There was a bit of commotion, though none spoke to her. Apparently because she was a new addition to this G&K Breakthrough Echelon. Many of the Rausers were all cheerfully talking to each other, mostly asking how their previous battle went, how many kills they got or how they were going to beat each other's "high scores", the numerous ways they died and how gruesome or hilarious it was.

Like they always did, time and time again.

The transport helicopter eventually landed, with the sounds of gunfire and explosions blaring just right outside. Its rear ramp dropped as the light on the side went green and all the Dollrausers rushed out. SOPMOD was a witness to a large battlefield. Dogfighting and crashing Luftrauser and Sangvis-Ferri drones filled the sky as Panzerausers and SF tanks duked it out in tank battles. Dollrausers and SF T-Dolls fought in pitched gun battles, combined with mass infantry assaults and flanking attacks. An artillery shell landed right in the middle of a mixed group of Dollrausers, sending their body parts flying everywhere, with a few pieces raining down on SOPMOD. The still-smoking head of an M4A1-type Sturmrauser rolled to a stop at her feet. Its hair and synthetic skin were burned off, leaving its dented, metallic endoskeleton skull bare.

Such was a normal day for a Dollrauser.

SOPMOD squatted and gently picked up the head of her fallen "sister" as the other Dollrausers behind her charged ahead around her.

"Awww...broken already?" the Sturmrauser said to the metal skull. "Looks like someone's been a little careless today!"

SOPMOD stood up as she tossed the head aside. She charged in as well, passing by shot Dollrausers who were either out of commission via severe torso damage or acting as stationary auto-turrets after their legs were disabled, taking potshots at the SF infantry Dolls and dragging themselves onward.

All with a smile on her face that stretched from ear to ear.

"COME, MY SANGVIS BUDDIES! MY MVP AWAITS!"

She was going to make her Commander proud.


	2. Commander "Green"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a crumbling world, an ever-dimming beacon still stands...

**Gerhardt & Krieger Headquarters, Berlin, European Union, 2132**

"Ah, so you're the new guy assigned there?" a husky-voiced, Russian-accented woman in a heavy gray winter coat and matching ushanka said to an indifferent man dressed in a full, gray-colored military-style uniform as they walked down a hall illuminated by fluorescent lights.

"Um...yes? Why do you sound surprised?" he replied. The woman sighed and shrugged simultaneously.

"I wasn't expecting a civvie to be my next superior, more or less be assigned to Sector RM-13."

"Is it me or does everybody in this company have a thing against new people who aren't army guys?" the man said frustratedly as he turned his head to the woman.

"Well to be honest, it's kind of rare for G&K to appoint personnel from civilian backgrounds to frontline command positions nowadays. Mostly you guys'd be turned into private security guards," she said to him while focusing forward as they walked closer to a pair of automatic sliding doors.

"Oh really? So what are you? Ex-Red Army or somethin'?" he asked her as the doors opened and they walked through.

"Militsya, actually. Did beat work then I got assigned to desk duty. Well...until the city fell to those  _Sangvis mudaks_."

The man could hear a slight tone of pure contempt in her voice upon hearing the last three words, despite her trying to maintain a professional tone. Nevertheless, they continued the conversation.

"Oh. I...uhh..."

The woman chuckled upon noticing him trying to come up with a response.

"Hah! Always gets 'em to shut up..." she muttered as she grinned. "Sorry. But I think I should let you know that I just  _really_  hate those Skynet rip-offs with a passion, considering we're gonna be working together for a long time after this is over."

"Uhh...errr, what are you supposed to be working for me as again?"

"I'm your adjutant."

" _Riiiiight_..." the man said as he raised an eyebrow at her. " _Huh. How come she isn't a commander herself? She certainly looks like she could qualify,"_ he thought.

The two reached another set of doors which opened and led to a large amphitheater-style conference room. Unlike a regular amphitheater, all the seats had a desk in front of them, the seats themselves could be slid forward and locked if the person wished to use the desk. Several pairs of new G&K commanders and their respective adjutants of many races were present. They were talking, re-reading the orientation primer, sleeping or playing mobile games on their phones while they waited for the orientation to get on.

The man made a long, low whistle as he took in the size of the room.

"Damn. This is place is really fancy for a conference room," he commented as they walked in. One of the new commanders called out to his companion as they went to look for seats.

"Navika! Long time no see!" a taller, well-built man called out as he descended from the stairs in between the aisles, leaving behind another woman dressed in similar uniform.

"Wojtek! You cyka! How the hell did you pass?" Navika said, grinning as she walked towards him and punched him lightly at the abdomen. Wojtek was unfazed.

"I'm not all brawn, you know," he said while laughing, just as his eyes laid on Navika's companion, upon which he stopped and grinned.

"Ahhh...so you must be Mr. 'Green', huh?" he asked.

'Green' rolled his eyes and groaned. "Hey, I actually have a name! Why the hell does everyone still call me that!?" he said exasperatedly.

"Attention all G&K commanders. The orientation will begin shortly. Please take your seats," a synthesized female voice spoke through the speakers on the walls of the room.

" _Cholerny_. Perhaps another time, eh Vika?" he said to her. "Hey  _Zielony_! Take care of her, ah? Hahahahaha!" he called out to Green before heading back to his partner.

"That guy a friend of yours?" Green asked Navika as they walked over to two vacant seats.

"Really old friend. We were neighbors and classmates back when I was grade school. He's like a younger brother to me," she said as she took off her coat, revealing to Green that she was wearing the standard G&K female uniform. After sitting down, Navika took off her hat and dropped it on her lap, letting her long brunette hair down.

"Y-Younger brother?! Waitaminute, how old are-"

"Incoming live call. Caller: G&K Chief Operating Officer Noah Gerhardt," the synthesized voice announced as the lights slightly dimmed and the G&K logo appeared on the large screen in front of the rows of seats. After a few seconds, the logo moved to the upper left corner as the black background faded into an image of a middle-aged man in a business suit with a red-orange tie with the G&K initials printed on it in black. He was sitting behind a neat white desk. Behind him was a view of the Berlin skyline, slightly obscured by smog.

"Guten tag, kommandeure! I hope all of you are ready for your deployments today. First off, I would like to apologize on behalf of Werner. He was supposed to join us, however, there are some matters concerning the European Armed Forces that he had to attend to," Gerhardt said as he adjusted his position on the chair to a more comfortable one.

"Anyway, as COO, I would like to say with great pleasure on behalf of G&K: Welcome to the company! It is an honor having such talented people in our ranks. No doubt that all of you have served your previous respective jobs with efficient distinction. I can assure you all that you shall have an even better time with us, because only the best pass through our application tests."

"Oh so I'm one of the best, eh?" Green muttered as Navika scoffed.

"Apparently. Impressive for a guy with absolutely no experience aside from working inventory," she said to him.

"I applied as an accountant here, you know. How the hell I ended up as a commander is beyond me," Green said as Gerhardt continued speaking.

"Since this orientation of ours is only between you new commanders and me, I'll just skip straight to the point. No need to repeat things mentioned in the previous orientations you all had during your basic training. I'm not here to bore you all to death," Gerhardt said before smirking, eliciting a few laughs from the commanders.

"As field commanders for our Paramilitary Services, your duties range from providing simple security work to working alongside the EAF in important operations. Those in charge of the former will be in charge of a few squads of our highly-trained Security Service Forces for those clients of ours who requested strictly human security, and a few echelons of our latest line of S-Dolls for the rest. "

A list appeared on the side of the screen listing the names of the Security Service commanders while the top of desks where they were seated activated a holoprojector showing each commander their assigned units.

Green peeked at the screen of one of the commanders in front of him. The S-Dolls (Short for "Security Dolls") were a new series of T-Dolls derived from the military models. The commander's screen displayed an image of one of them. It was humanoid-type bipedal android which resembled a sleeker C-Doll with a white and blue paintjob, the G&K logo was embossed on the front chestplate in red-orange. Green remembered an old report in the company newsletter mentioning that the latest series was designed as it was because of complaints that the previous series, which were based off the A-Doll line and could be customized to look like male or female security guards albeit with parts of them designed to make it obvious that they were robots, were very unsettling to customers and employees of the clients.

It was then that Green realized that he was not on the list.

_"Hold on...shiiiiiit."_

"The ones in charge of military operations, unfortunately, will not be given command of C-Doll echelons. Due to the EAF's high demand we had most of our subsidiaries divert all the products to them. Fortunately, we have produced a..."

Gerhardt trailed off as he sighed before continuing again.

"...similarly expendable series to take their place."

The previous list collapsed as another list was displayed. After a short delay, Green's and Navika's desks' holoprojector systems activated.

"As you all know, one of our subsidiaries, Hephaestus Armories, made a proposal to utilize our large surplus of spare A-Doll parts to create substitutes to fill in our lack of C-Dolls. The Expendable Modular Tactical Doll series, which we unofficially refer to as the 'Dollrausers'."

"Awww, fuck!" Green quietly muttered as he facepalmed. "I was  _really_  hoping that I wouldn't be assigned to  _this_  kind of commanding duty..." he said as Navika stifled a laugh.

"What were you expecting? We  _are_  assigned to RM-13," she said to him.

"Where the hell is that anyway?" Green asked he turned his head to her.

Navika suddenly glared at him.

"Wasn't there details of your assigned base included together with your acceptance letter?"

"There was?" Green replied in surprise.

"Chyort voz'mi...it's near the Moskva Yellow Zone you idiot," Navika said as she leaned forward to put an elbow on the table rested her chin on her hand.

The holographic screen displayed a T-Doll endoskeleton. There was text, data, bar graphs and the like displaying all the possible uses and modifications the endoskeleton could be used for.

"I'm sure you are all well-informed about the capabilities of these 'Dollrausers'. No doubt their modular nature and expendability will be useful to you all in the field. Due to this, each of the bases all you combat ops-assigned commanders were outfitted with modified T-Doll Production Facilities which are linked to the bases' RCCS AI system. You will meet your new superiors upon arrival to your assigned commands. They may or may not give you your missions immediately, so I suggest that you all prepare yourselves just in case."

Gerhardt pressed a button on his desk, which opened a sliding hatch on the desk which brought up a chilled bottle of high-quality wine and a wine glass.

"Combat ops commanders, I've taken the liberty of sending you combat data you've been authorized to use for your Dollrausers. It's been randomized but you will all each get data for each of the five gun classes. Additional data can be obtained, but in order to to do so you must qualify for clearance based on your performance. That will be judged and granted by your superiors," Gerhardt said as he gently pulled out the cork, set it aside and poured himself a glass.

"If you require more information, feel free to consult our databases, your superiors or the RCCS AI. After all, knowing is half the battle," he said as he picked up the glass and smiled at the camera.

"Well, this is the end of our little chat, kameraden. Beifall euch allen, und viel glück," Gerhardt said as he raised his glass to the camera and hung up.

* * *

A Eurocopter transport/infantry support helicopter waited on the airfield as many of its brethren took off and flew in different directions. Each chopper carried a pair of commander and adjutant to their respective commands. This one in particular was for Green and Navika.

The two clambered aboard and strapped themselves into their seats before the pilot took off.

"You're Green, right?" the co-pilot asked. Green sighed and rolled his eyes.

"My God, why does everyone call me that?" he said. "My name's actually-"

"Just wanna let you know that this is gonna be a long trip. Long way from Berlin to Moscow, so I recommend you two get some rest or somethin'," the co-pilot said. Green was slightly irked by the sudden cut-off, but he decided to let it pass.

"Thank you," Navika replied. "What are your names, by the way?"

"I'm Jesse, and my boy here's Mikhail! You're welcome, miss-"

"Navika. Will you two be heading back after this or...?"

"Actually we're assigned to be your personal pilots. At the same time we're also supposed to help you two out by piloting them remote heli UCAVs over there."

"Oh so you two pilot drones too?" Green asked.

"Da, komandir," Mikhail gruffly replied.

Green pulled out a small tablet supplied by G&K. He turned it on and checked the inbox for the combat data.

"Okay, let's see what data we've got here..." he mumbled.

"I hope you get some good guns," Navika snickered as she lit a cigarette. "We're gonna need all the firepower we can get."

The latest message was from G&K HQ with the subject "Assigned Combat Data". He tapped the icon to open the message, which read:

* * *

To: RM-13 Commander

From: G&K HQ

Subject: Welcome to G&K/Assigned Combat Data

You have been initially granted access to five combat A.I. data for use with the 'Dollrauser' series of expendable modular T-Dolls. They are attached with this message. Additional data can be obtained through purchase from the company store or as rewards for exceptional performance.

Welcome to G&K, Commander. We expect the best results from you.

G&K Executive Board of Directors

* * *

Green tapped the attached files and was presented with five files with differing icons. The first was a pistol. He tapped it, presenting him with the file information.

"Hmmm, this first one's a M1911."

"Ooooh, that's an old one. Reliable design though," Navika commented.

Green tapped the second one.

"This one's an Uzi..."

"Israel's legacy lives on, I see. Haha."

Green tapped the third.

"Ithaca M37..."

Green tapped the fourth.

"M14 EBR..."

"Huh. No Soviet weapons..."

Then he tapped the last

"M4 SOPMOD..."

The gun's name seemed very familiar to him.


	3. Base Necessities

** G&K Supply Base, Sector RM-13 (Formerly Moscow Oblast), Former Soviet Union, 2132 **

* * *

  **BGM** : [Lazy Hangar - Luftrausers OST (Jukio Kallio)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD2o3VZtXvM)

* * *

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

"Oy, Green."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Green felt a mild slap to his face which jolted him awake as he fell off his seat.

"Whaddafuckwherearewe?!" he gibbered as he wildly looked around. Green spotted Navika standing over him while facepalming. She was dressed again in her coat and ushanka.

"I...uhhh...we're already there aren't we?"

"You dozed off right after you read out the names of the guns you got," she said in an annoyed tone. "Good thing I caught your tablet."

"Oh...errr, thanks, I guess?" Green replied as he pushed himself off the floor of the helicopter and stood up.

"Where'd Mikhail and Jesse go?" he asked as he dusted himself off.

"I dismissed them already. Told them I'd handle you. Now let's hurry up. I think I just saw our client and his men outside," Navika said as she handed Green his tablet, which he quickly snatched before exiting.

Navika slid open the side door of the helicopter, letting Green step down before doing so herself. Green slid it shut and turned to see the G&K base under his command.

The base was a large, rectangular compound situated in the former Shakhovskaya municipality. The compound was lined with six meter thick concrete walls with the outer walls covered in steel armor and topped with four rows of barbed wire. Four area-denial dual 30mm autocannons were installed on each of the four corners with six watchtowers. There were only three major buildings on the base: A large warehouse, a medium-sized vehicle bay/hangar and a hybrid between a five-story office building and factory. All three structures were connected to each other. Also on the base were multiple trucks and MRAPs marked with European Army markings, signaling the presence of the client. Soldiers assisted by logistics androids carried crates of supplies to and from the warehouse as Green and Navika walked towards a group of them near one armored command truck.

"So who's the client?" Green asked Navika as they walked closer.

"If I remember correctly, he's an officer. He's most likely that one guy here wearing a beret," she said pointing to a soldier wearing a cerulean beret. He was looking over a clipboard while giving orders to a few men around him. The two walked past the crowd, eliciting looks from the troops who mumbled in different languages as the duo passed by. Presumably due to Navika's presence as most of their eyes were drawn to her.

"Yes, yes. Stockpile as much as you can. Huh? Shortage of... Ah blyat. We'll have to make do with what we can scrounge up..." the beret-wearing soldier said in Russian-accented English to one of the men as Navika and Green approached.

"Izvinite menya. We're looking for a 'Major Konovalev'?" Navika asked. The beret-wearing soldier turned around. He looked to be in his early 40s.

"That would be me, madam," he replied right before a surprised expression appeared on his face. "You're the commander? I was expecting a m-"

"I am his Adjutant," Navika interrupted. "He is the commander of this base," she said as she stepped aside and pointed to Green.

"Dobroye utro, Major," Green said professionally as he held out a hand to Konovalev. "I am-"

"Ahhh. So you're Commander Green, yes? Your accent could use a little work, haha," he said as he shook his hand. Green's eyes widened in surprise.

"D-Did you just call me 'Green'?" he muttered.

"Isn't that your nickname? That's what it said on the dossier I was sent," Konovalev replied in confusion.

"For fuck's sake... When I get my hands on whoever writes the documents I swear to God... I have a fuckin' name dammit!" he thought to himself. He wanted to correct his client but since Konovalev was already calling him by it he decided to go with it. Telling off his client would be another embarassment.

"Oh, uhhh, I think I misheard you. Yes, I am...Commander Green. It's a pleasure to meet you Major."

Konovalev nodded approvingly.

"Spasibo, spasibo. It is good to meet our extra pair of hands! We really need all the support we can get if we want to clean Moskva of those SF bastards."

"So how is the operation going so far, Major?" Navika asked. Konovalev inhaled through his teeth and sighed.

"Ah. Asking the big questions already, huh? Well, we're making...some progress, at least. So far we've been somewhat hampered by all the refugees trying to flee the fighting. Not to mention that the metalheads have been digging in inside the city proper. Our forces are barely even getting past their vanguard around the outskirts. And we've already got three army groups operating here!"

"I see..." Green mumbled. Well this was a doozy. He was assigned to one of the most intense fronts of the Sangvis - Human War. It was only several years prior that Moscow was attacked by several SF-hacked close-air support drones of the Soviet Air Force. A variant of the Paraplue Virus was used to infect the Soviet Armed Forces' combat drones. The hacked UCAVs performed a carpet bombing of the Kremlin and its vicinity, killing the Soviet leadership in decapitation strike before getting shot down by SAMs. Then the C-Dolls of the Red Army started going berserk, slaughtering a majority of the troops in the country amidst the confusion. The resulting chaos resulted in the collapse of the USSR, with the surviving sub-states struggling to stay afloat independently, with all ot them joining the EU and NATO for the sake of protection. The remainder of the Soviet military was absorbed into the European Armed Forces as well.

"Speaking of which, how can we assist in the effort, sir?" he asked.

"Oh. Well, regarding that, I can assure you two that there won't be any shortage of available missions. But so far what we're really in need for is some extra forces to do the things we can't, the things in particular will vary regarding the nature of the situation over there and here."

"Such as?" Navika asked.

"If you've noticed, we've been fielding some flesh-and-blood auxiliary personnel for logistics duty," Konovalev said as he looked around at his men. "The C-Doll forces are concentrated at Moskva, leaving most of our rear and flanks somewhat defenseless, which has caused us to lose some logistics Dolls to enemy raider units," he said as he pointed towards the East.

"And that is where you come in."

"Soooo...we're supposed to protect the supply lines and the supplies, huh? That seems easy enough," Green said as he crossed his arms.

"More or less. This base we're standing in is just one of many bases we co-built with G&K. It's the last stop for one of the supply routes which runs straight from Berlin, but wait! There is more!"

Green raised an eyebrow.

"Ummm...what?"

"I've mentioned the thing about the refugees. yes? Right over there is one of the refugee camps we've set up," Konovalev said as he pointed towards the north of the base, toward the town itself.

A short silence occurred between the three.

"We're supposed to protect the camp too, aren't we?" Green said to Konovalev in complete deadpan. Konovalev grinned sheepishly.

"You have good perception! I knew we could count on your company!"

Navika remained indifferent as Green sighed. The G&K commander scratched his head.

"As long as the pay is good..." he mumbled.

"I assume that you are familiar with how to handle the submission of our tasks, Major?" Navika inquired.

"Ah, yes. Through the G&K ZenNet system. It's similar to how we get our orders as well," Konovalev said just as a soldier walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Major. We're already done with loading the supplies," the soldier said after Konovalev turned around.

"Oh, good," the Major said before turning to Green and Navika. "Looks like that's my signal to go. We've got relief goods and mechanical supplies to deliver," Konovalev said as he tucked the clipboard under his arm.

"Have a safe journey, Major," Navika said to him.

"Yeah, umm...good luck out there, sir," Green followed.

"Spasibo, comrades! And good luck to you two! I'm very sure you both'll need it!" he said as he entered the command vehicle. Green and Navika saw the convoy off as it drove out the compound. The two then proceeded to walk to the base's main building.

The "office building" was a tall, imposing structure. The monolithic structure had a radar and radio antenna on the roof, together with a satellite receiver. The G&K logo on the facade above the front doors was the only colored feature of the gray building.

"*sigh* So is there anyone else here aside from the two of us and the pilots? Apart from the auxiliary androids, that is," Green asked Navika as they walked under the overcast sky.

"We have a skeleton crew here that handles some of the semi-automated functions. Everything else is controlled by 'Rex'."

"'Rex'? Who's Rex?" Green asked.

"He doesn't know?" Navika thought. "This man is just full of surprises..."

"You remember the RCCS? The Remote Command and Control System?"

"Okaaaaay...?"

"R. C. C. S. Say that as one word."

Green took a minute to think.

"Ohhhhhhhh...now I get it."

The two entered the 'lobby' of the building, whereupon they were met by a screen in place of a receptionist's desk. The screen displayed the G&K logo and a waveform visualizer below it. There were two hallways to the left and right of it, and the entire room and the hallways had a streamlined white, red orange and gray design.

"Huh. Reminds me of my first gig," Green thought as he looked around.

"Hello!," a synthesized male voice spoke. Its pronunciation and accent was in flawless American English, but it still sounded electronic. Green and Navika's attention was drawn to the screen.

What was surprising was how it spoke. Green was expecting something like a professional-sounding British voice, instead it sounded like some guy who was just speaking casually to an acquaintance!

 _"That is an...interesting choice of voice for a military AI..."_ Green thought.

"Adjutant Navika Orlova and Commander...Green, right?" the AI asked. Green was immediately alarmed by the AI calling him by his unwanted nickname.

"Okay how come she gets her full name but I don't?!" Green snapped at the screen.

"It rolls off the tongue, Green. Besides your actual name is somewhat lengthy, and I like that nickname of yours," the AI replied.

"You can't be fucking serious," he muttered. _"Oh great. They programmed the AI to do this too?"_

"Welcome to G&K Supply Base Sector RM-13. I am the Gerhardt and Krieger Remote Command and Control System, but you can call me 'Rex' for short," the AI said. "I'm looking forward to working with you guys."

Green glanced at Navika, who looked indifferent as usual as she took off her coat and hung it on her arm. He was somewhat surprised with how she took it all in stride. Perhaps she was used to this, considering the fact that she was already an employee for a few years.

"As per G&K's routine for new commanders, I'm obliged to give you guys a tour of what this base's gotta offer to y'all. Since I can't actually...y'know, walk with you guys like this I'll be going with you via my drone avatar," Rex said as a hatch on the ceiling opened and a small hovering assistant drone dropped out. The drone had a screen in front of it, with a small camera below it with a blue light beside it. On the screen was the same thing displayed on the other screen, but the G&K logo was replaced by "R C C S".

"Now let's get going, shall we?" Rex spoke from the drone. The light flickered with each word.

* * *

"First stop is your command room," Rex spoke as he hovered aside Green and Navika as they went down the hallway. It was eerily quiet, with only their footsteps and the low humming sound the drone made making the only noises aside from Rex's voice.

"It's just along this floor. Battlefield overview and your commanding duties are all done there, obviously," he said as they approached a pair of steel sliding doors which automatically opened. The room inside, initially dark, was automatically illuminated as the three entered.

The command room's walls were adorned with screens and other kinds of equipment such as radar displays, computer systems and a hologram projector table. One wall was composed entirely of one large touchscreen, which displayed the G&K logo in its glory. Another had a computer table attached to the wall with multiple flatscreens and smaller hologram screens which displayed the current condition of the base facilities, the list and amount of supplies stored in the warehouse and a radar display. One wall had a weapons rack with two suitcases marked with the G&K logo and some caution symbols on it.

Green made a low whistle. "Daaaaamn, this place looks like overkill," he commented as he looked around. Green was no stranger to technology, being a former office worker. However, he was more accustomed to the regular computers and widgets he used before despite already having been trained to use them all during his training. It was still intimidating to look at all the technology laying right before him.

"Yo, guys. Over here," Rex called out. He was hovering beside the suitcases as the two walked towards him.

"Ah. Are these our PDWs?" Navika asked

"Uh huh. Standard-issue G&K brand PDWs. The finest in modular personal defense. Why don'tcha check 'em out for yourselves," Rex replied.

The two took one suitcase each. They were both labeled with their names on it. Navika's full name was printed beside the G&K logo. Green's was...simply labeled "GREEN".

"Ha ha. Veeery funny..." he mumbled.

A thumbprint scanner served as the lock for both suitcases. The two placed their right thumbs on their respective scanners. Two beeps and the click of the locks unlocking echoed through the room with Green and Navika opening the suitcases.

The G&K PDW looked like a combination of both the boxy and streamlined sci-fi guns everyone saw in the old movies. "Apparently the designers must have been nerds," the commander thought. The base gun was a bullpup rifle/submachinegun. Other components included were a shotgun module, a sniper rifle module, a battle rifle module, a pistol conversion kit and a few attachments such as a bayonet, sniper scope, holographic and red dot sights and a grenade launcher. The modular nature of the gun allowed the parts to be swapped in and out at any time. The gun had a sleek gray finish, with some white details and the G&K logo embossed onto the main gun module.

Green had trained with the gun. It was, to him, an overcomplicated and overengineered piece of work when he first saw it. The fact that it was so easy to remove and attach the parts worried him. The gun could fall apart if he fired it! But that was proven wrong because of the gun's almost magical part locking system. Despite the force of the heavy caliber and shotgun ammunition, the gun never gave out. It also handled surprisingly well. The recoil was almost non-existent! Though they were instructed to only use the weapon in the event their base would be attacked, though they were assured that the chances of that happening was very low...depending on where they would be assigned, that is.

The gun was quite an interesting piece of engineering. Why would a weapon, expertly crafted for the art of killing. which would probably be every special forces soldier's dream, be intended for the self-defense of a guy in one of the most heavily defended places outside of a battlefield?

It was probably too expensive to use on one.

"Looks like they're in order," Navika said as she inspected the base gun and placed it back in the case.

The two closed the suitcases and placed them back on the rack.

"So yeah. This is the command room. The base can be managed entirely from here, as well as any of our field operations and bureaucratic shit. I'm sure you guys know the drill," Rex said as he hovered towards the exit.

 _"That's a very quick explanation,"_ Green thought as they followed Rex outside.

* * *

 

"This is the Living Quarters-slash-Recreational Area," Rex said as the two looked at large room with a large, wall-mounted flatscreen TV, a few couches arranged around one large coffee table and a large, walk-in fridge. The rest of the room was very bare. There was also another hallway that led to the rooms of the base's skeleton crew, though there were a few extra rooms that were uninhabited.

"Yeah, I know. The place is pretty boring, but you can avail for more stuff through our company store!" Rex said as he brought up a holographic display of a menu. The G&K Store was the eponymous company's internal store. Employees and customers of G&K were obliged to use the Store to buy products made by the company and its subsidiaries. The menu had several tabs. Each had different categories such as Furniture, Groceries, Office Supplies and Equipment and for the Paramilitary Services' commanders there was a special tab for base upgrades and even additional Combat Data requests.

"Great timing on the sales pitch, Rex," Green scoffed as he browsed the menu. "They deliberately made the place like this for that, didn't they?"

"It's an open secret," Rex replied. "It's kind of funny, actually. They pay you guys a lot, but all the money still comes back to them!"

"I wouldn't say all..." Green said as he closed the menu. The three proceeded to the rooms. Everyone present had a room assigned to them, indicated by their name marked above a biometric hand scanner. Jesse and Mikhail's names were on two of the rooms, while three other rooms had the names of a "Jacinto", "Bella" and "Heydrich". Navika's was labeled "Navika" while Green's was...obviously...

Green rolled his eyes as he placed his hand on the scanner. The door opened and the three stepped in.

The room resembled a hotel suite, though the windows were instead screens that showed a view of the world outside. Being on the second floor, the view showcased the base and the refugee camp nearby. The sky was still dim and cloudy. On the horizon, flashes of light and AA gun tracers could be seen.

The room was still kind of boring to look at.

_"Wow, they really want us to spend on furniture, huh?"_

* * *

 

"Now this is the Vehicle Bay," Rex said as they entered the large hangar/garage hybrid. Three armored European Army trucks were hoisted on car lifts as robotic arms operated on their undersides and bodies. The trucks had noticeable damage, one looking completely burnt out while the other had multiple gaping explosion-caused holes on its sides. Two GAZ Tigr armored infantry vehicles painted in G&K colors with the logo emblazoned on the sides were parked inside, together with a cargo truck in similar paintjob and insignia.

Conveyor racks from the manufacturing facility jutted out from five cut-out areas in a wall. There was a raised platform under all of them, atop it was a container van-like transport storage for the transportation of Dollrauser units to the field, which could mounted on the back of a truck or carried by a deployment chopper. More of the vans were stacked nearby, beside an automated arm that would place it on the platform.

Green noticed Jesse and Mikhail talking to two people, a man and a woman. The two were dressed in mechanic jumpsuits which had smears of oil and grease. The man had short, but messy black hair. He looked Hispanic, and was somewhat older than the woman, who looked to be much more younger than Navika. She had light-brown hair, which was tied into a ponytail.

"We had this place built via request from the army. They have their supply vehicles repaired here, but of course it's not for free. They pay us for each vehicle they have us fix," Rex explained.

""I wasn't aware that G&K was also in the auto repair business... But at least we've got passive income already!" Green exclaimed. Navika noticed his eyes light up in joy.

"We could increase the amount of money we'd receive if we upgrade the facilities to repair bigger vehicles and the like. I'd recommend it," Rex replied.

"It's a good long-term investment, considering we're near the front. Don'tcha agree?" Green said to Navika.

"Well...we will be needing the funding for a lot of things. The base itself could use some better defenses..." she said as she rubbed her chin.

"Yo, Boss!" Jesse called out. Green and Navika turned their heads to him.

"Rex givin' y'all the tour, eh?" Jesse said as they approached. "Good timin' of y'all to be here! Me an' Mickey 'er just tellin' Camo and Belle over here 'bout you two!"

"Actually it was just him doing all the talking," Mikhail said the Hispanic mechanic stepped forward, followed by the girl.

"You must be Commander Green, yes?" he said in Spanish-accented, yet well-spoken English as held out a hand. "Jacinto Camorra. Lead Engineer."

Green rolled his eyes upon having his name mentioned but still shook his dirty hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Camorra," he said.

"Please. Call me Jacinto," the mechanic said before leaning a little closer. "I'm getting tired of hearing that hick calling me 'Camo' all the time. It was funny at first, but now it's just getting annoying..." he whispered.

Green smiled assuredly.

"This is my assistant and I guess, protégé, Bella Macintosh," Jacinto said as he stepped aside to let the woman step forward.

"Noice ta meet ye, Greeno!" she said in a thick Scottish accent while grabbing his hand shaking it vigorously. "Jesse hea wuz just tellin' us that you was droolin' ya sleepy ass in the choppa! Good ta see that yer up an aboot now!"

"It's uhhhh...nice to be up, yeah..." Green said as he smiled awkwardly to her before glaring at Jesse. The pilot just laughed.

"You are Navika, yes?" Jacinto asked the adjutant. "Yes I am. It is good to meet you," she said as she shook his hand.

"I assume the repairs are going well?" she asked.

"So far, so good. We're making good progress with fixing the chassis and suspensions, but it's the body that we're having problems with," Jacinto said as he pointed to the trucks being repaired. "We're lacking parts. Specifically armor and interiors. There's also a few improvements we could make to the vehicles, though we'll be needing some additional equipment for that."

"Give me a list," Green straightforwardly said.

"Wh-What? Boss, you serious?" Jacinto asked in surprise.

"Sooner you fix 'em the better, right? Give me a list and I'll see if I can order the things as soon as possible. Army needs those supplies, don't they?"

"I think I'm starting to like you already, Green," he said as he slapped the commander on the back, knocking the wind out of him. "Haha! Alright, we'll send you a list as soon as possible."

"Bella! Let's get to work!" he said to the Scot. "Let's make a list of parts on the double!"

"Aye, Cap'n!" she replied. "Jings, Greeno. Yer a lifesaver!" she said to Green as she ran over to Jacinto, who was wiping his greasy hands on a rug before using a touchscreen.

Green wiped his hand on his pants and straightened out his back as he, Navika and the two pilots were about to leave.

"That's awfully nice of you, Commander," Rex said to Green.

"I assume you are not doing this out of the kindness of your heart, are you?" Navika softly asked him.

Green just chuckled, with small tone of pain.

"Told you guys. Long-term investment," he whispered back.

"Hey, Commander! Me and Mickey're headin' to the food hall. You wanna come with?" Jesse asked.

"You only. I'm going to take a nap," Mikhail muttered to the American as he walked into the hallway going into the main building, leaving Jesse behind.

"I gotta pass, sorry. Still have more to see here," Green said to him as he looked to Rex. "The manufacturing area, right?"

"Uh huh. Where all the magic happens!"

They bid Jesse a goodbye before going on.

The manufacturing facility area of the main building brought Green memories of the Dollrauser Assembly Facility from his days in training. Unlike before, it was quiet. The familiar sounds of machinery were replaced by footsteps and a soft humming of a drone as they walked down a hallway. The windows on the right showed the machinery of the facility. Part of the facility was connected to the back of the warehouse. Parts storage, perhaps?

"This is the manufacturing plant. Obviously I don't need to explain what goes on here, hahaha," Rex said as they walked.

"Duh. We both know how the Rausers are made," Green said as they walked.

"If I'm correct, Heydrich's in the deployment room doing his weekly inspection. Though he's not the only one you two're gonna be meeting today."

The three entered the inspection room. It was a large room that had five conveyor racks that emerged from the right wall. Each rack was meant for simultaneous production of multiple Dollrausers in the event that an army of them would be needed, which was the case for certain operations. The racks continued on into the left wall, which led into the hangar from earlier. Each of the racks had a small elevated platform area with a control panel, which had a few robot arms with scanners to perform quality checks on the androids. The Rausers could also be prematurely dropped down from the racks on the platforms.

A blond-haired man was inspecting the nearest rack's control panel. He was wearing a white polo shirt, jeans and rubber shoes. Around his neck was the G&K I.D., while on his arm was a familiar red-orange armband. His back was turned towards them and he was wearing headphones, so he did not notice the three enter the room.

"That's Heydrich Norrin, this base's electronics technician," Rex said as they walked closer to the man.

"Yo, Heidi!" the AI said as he hovered in front of the man. Heydrich pulled his headphones off and let them hang around his neck, while a certain Tears for Fears song could be faintly heard.

"Yeah, Rex. What is it? I'm kind of busy right now," he annoyedly said in an unmistakably British accent as he looked up from the tablet he was using to help him perform ghe diagnostic tests.

"Oh, you're British?" Green asked, startling Heydrich. He jumped forward in surprise.

"Gah! Christ almighty, how long have you two been standing there?!" Heydrich asked as he held on to one of the inactive arms to keep himself from falling.

"We just arrived," Navika answered straightforwardly.

"I see. Judging from the outfits I guess you're the new commander..." Heydrich said as he pointed at Green. "...and you're his adjutant?" he asked as he pointed at Navika.

"Yeah, I'm-"

"Yes I know. Green and Orlova. You used to count money and you did Russian cop work, correct?" Heydrich said, cutting off Green. The commander was surprised by the mention of his nickname.

"Hey who tol-?!"

"I know your real name, relax. But since everyone calls you that I feel like I'm obliged to do the same," Heydrich said with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm the tech guy here. So long story short, you got problems with anything electronic that Rex can't help you with, you call me."

"Wait, it's only you?" Green asked. "Isn't there supposed to be like a team of you guys that works on this shit?"

"Not necessarily. Since we have Rex already handling everything around here, I'm just around for second opinion duty and if there's ever a time when Rex gets put offline."

"Which never happens unless something gets to my core. Luckily for all of us, my core's all the way in Germany," the AI said in a smug tone. He had all the reason to, as the RCCS was a network-based AI that was in control of managing all of G&K's military assets per base. "Rex" could be described as a hive mind, but with a separate iteration for each base. All the data would be sent back to the central core in Germany, where it would be processed and calculated so that Rex would make the most optimal decisions.

"Now I gotta go check out the solar panels up top," Heydrich said as he put the headphones back on. "Oh, and to clarify, I'm half-Jerry. I'll be seeing you guys around."

Heydrich went off, tablet in hand, to the nearest elevator, leaving the three behind.

"Knowing that you handle everything around here doesn't seem so reassuring..." Green said to Rex as he looked around the room. Rex laughed.

"They always say that at first. So? Ready to meet the girls?" the AI asked. "The five base Rauser frames for your data were just delivered yesterday, and I have to say, Green, you got yourself some good ones..."

Green raised his eyebrows. "What? I thought they were assembled on the spot?"

"Same," Navika followed up. "I thought they were made of spare parts cobbled together to make serviceable footsoldiers?"

"They are, but we've got like so much of these stock T-Dolls from IOP's old warehouses, so we use them first, and then when they get blown up and shit that's when they get their signature Frankenstein's robot look."

"Also, 'for my data'? So each of these guns have a specific Doll model for each of them?" Green asked, confusedly.

"Eyup. The models we're using are based on the last frame the combat AIs used."

The commander sighed and scratched his head.

"You know, I still find it kinda strange that they've got 'unique' personalities. Wouldn't that be a bit of an issue when they're on the field?"

Working with androids wasn't anything new to Green. After all, they did use A-Dolls for menial duty during his accounting days for menial jobs. The Dolls were pre-programmed to have polite and kind personalities, befitting for a corporate environment. However, the fact that the Rauser combat AI data had "unique" individual personalities (So he heard in basic training) surprised him. Why give killer robots personalities of their own?

"Well, the guys back at Hephaestus did try to modify the digi-mind data we salvaged from IOP. Tried extracting the 'how-to-use-gun' shit only," Rex explained.

"How did that turn out?" Navika asked.

"Complete data corruption. Even their AI couldn't do so. From what I can gather from our archives it's due to the combat knowledge being connected to the personality data somehow. Good thing they just tried that on copies of the original stuff, or else we'd need to make new AIs for the guns all over again."

"Wow. So it was a two-in-one package from the start, huh?" Green commented.

"Pretty much."

The commander pondered for a few minutes before saying another word.

"Okay..." he muttered as he put his hands on his hips and looked at the floor. "That's a...lot to take in but I think I get the gist of it."

"Great! Now let me take a look at who ya got..." Rex said as he connected to Green's command tablet. The AI projected a holographic screen, with five gun icons appearing: a pistol, a shotgun, a submachinegun, a sniper rifle and an assault rifle. They were small squares with silhouettes of an M1911, an Ithaca, an Uzi, an M14 EBR and an M4 with a few attachments.

"Heh. Right when I saw the frames delivered, I thought: 'Shieeet, this guy's a lucky asshole'," the AI said right after the icons appeared.

"I really want to meet whoever programmed this thing..." Green thought as he rolled his eyes. "What makes this so lucky?" he inquired.

"All you combat ops commanders had their guns randomly picked for use. If I'm not mistaken, there's a few of you guys who got some somewhat shitty combinations, but this combo you got is pretty good. Two twos, a three and two fours? And these guys have some good stats too!"

"I'm sorry, what? What's with the 'twos, threes and fours'?" Green interjected.

"Oh, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Rex audibly sighed.

"The AIs are ranked by these star symbols you see on the icons. The more stars you have indicate how much better they are compared to the other AIs, though that's only a generalized measurement per gun class," the AI explained. "Just because they've got higher stars doesn't mean they aren't useful."

"Oh, I see. So judging from the ranks of the data..." Green said as he looked at the holoscreen. "This is a really good distribution?"

"Very much so."

Green nodded his head approvingly as he glanced at Navika.

"So what is special about each of these guns, Rex?" Navika asked as she stepped closer to the screen.

"Let's see...well they're each of a different model of Dollrauser, specifically a Pistolrauser, Schwerauser, Lichtrauser, Gewehrauser and Sturmrauser respectively. Or in English, a pistol, shotgun, SMG, sniper rifle and assault rifle. Their combat AIs have stats that complement each other in a way, so all in all, they're a balanced team."

The Russian nodded as she examined at the guns' stats displayed under the icons.

"Now that we've got all the technical shit done with, it's time to see how they look!"

The machinery of the facility came to life as mechanical noises were heard starting up, with the conveyor rack near them moving. After a few seconds, five inactive Dollrausers were brought out. All five were hung on their own respective android holding racks.

Green immediately recognized the first one he laid his eyes on.

"Holy shit...hey I think I saw that one during basic," Green said as he pointed to the first one being brought out. The pinkish blonde hair with the singular red highlight was most striking thing he remembered. The only difference was that the rest of its body had synthetic skin and clothes on.

"You mean SOPMOD, right?" Rex asked. Green got startled as Rex was suddenly hovering right next to him.

"Jesus, Rex! Now I understand how Heydrich felt..." the commander thought as he regained his composure. "Wait...that's the body the SOPMOD AI used?"

"Yep. It's...well it's pretty unique, don'tcha think?"

Green could make out some sort of black headset in it's hair that somewhat resembled a set of horns. The hair and its unnaturally pale skin contrasted with its completely black and red clothing. The Doll's appearance gave off an uncanny impression on Green.

"Actually...are those really the bodies the guns' AI used?!"

Green took notice of the other Dollrausers' appearances. Two of them looked reasonable enough, as they were wearing what looked to be a mix between tactical gear and a school uniform. The other two, however, were wearing absolutely impractical outfits. The Doll with a collapsible, arm-mounted tactical shield was wearing an improperly worn jacket and a tube dress that was a few sizes too small. Not to mention that is had...oversized ballistics that looked like they could spill out at any moment. The last Doll was pretty much wearing what amounted to a bikini top and extremely short shorts.

"I may not be a former army guy but God those do NOT look like proper battle gear."

"Well, that's how they made them. Even we were surprised when we first opened IOP's warehouses," the AI said.

"I wonder if their personalities are what I think they will be, judging from their clothes and all that," Green muttered as he scratched his head.

"Guess it's time to find out!" Rex said as he hovered close to the inactive SOPMOD. "You know, according to the G&K archives, this one AI has quite a bit of history to it. Do both of you remember that thing called the Butterfly Incident?"

"Isn't that the day when Sangvis went all Skynet? When all this began?" Navika answered.

"Uh huh. The original digi-mind that the SOPMOD AI is based off was part of some special unit during the initial conflict. They were experimental models. Didn't need a commander to operate, capable of actually leading themselves and other T-Dolls..."

"They were capable of independent actions and thought, huh? Impressive. You don't see that in A, C or S-Dolls nowadays," Green commented.

"Full autonomy is risky. Especially with the mudaks being able to hack things with weak cyberdata protection," Navika added.

"You have to admit, IOP wasn't afraid to push the boundaries of AI development. It's almost a shame that the company shriveled up, but at least we managed to absorb most of it into us, or else you wouldn't have me around to walk y'all through eveything!" Rex boasted.

"With a background like that, I assume that this SOPMOD's one of those smooth, consummate professional-types, right?" the commander naively asked.

Rex guffawed, to the confusion of Green and Navika.

"What is so funny?" the Russian demanded. The two looked at each other, confused.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA...'consummate professional'...I'm afraid you two have gotta see for yourself..." the AI said in-between laughs.

One of the robot arms activated and plugged in a cable into the back of SOPMOD Dollrauser's head. The control panel showed an upload bar that was quickly filling.

"A thing about these combat AIs is that despite their backgrounds, they don't really act like how you'd expect them to act. This one is a good example."

[PROXY LINK DATA UPLOAD COMPLETE], the control panel read.

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?" Green thought as he and Navika instinctively started to back away a little.

[DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1...]

The rack set down the SOPMOD Dollrauser on the platform and released the locks.

*CLANK*

The Doll fell forward, unmoving and as still as stone.

"Well...that was anti-climactic," Green said as he looked at the Dollrauser on the floor.

"Probably just signal lag," Rex muttered. "Just give it a few minutes."

"How does this AI actually act, Rex?" Green demanded as he pulled the drone towards him.

"Err...you see...the SOPMOD AI is somewhat-"

"FOUND—YOU~!"

"GAH!" Green shouted as something hit him with extreme force and knocked to the ground. Before he knew it, he was looking straight into a pair of strikingly red eyes that looked upon him like a predator having found its prey.

He felt a heavy weight pressing down on his lower abdomen. It was then that he realized what happened.

The SOPMOD Dollrauser was right on top of him.


	4. Stepping Into the Fire

* * *

**BGM:** [Armory - Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aXRFu5-GWc)

* * *

The T-Doll was straddling Green on his stomach, looming over him with both its hands pushing her up on the areas of the floor beside both sides of his head. The initial shock slowly settling down, Green's focus shifted from the T-Doll's eyes to the rest of its face. It was smiling at him in the most overenthusiastic manner he thought possible, which made her predatory look more evident with its almost-demonic appearance.

"Hiiii!" it said to him in a friendly, childish voice, uncharacteristic of an AI that was based off a supposedly special forces T-Doll, as her predatory gaze turned into an excited smile.

"Finally! It's so nice to finally meet you Commander!" she exclaimed. Green uncomfortably smiled at her.

"It's...uhhh...nice to meet you too, I guess?" he said to her before coughing. "Augh!" he cried, feeling her weight crushing his stomach.

"Y-You're, uhhh, you're SOPMOD, right?" Green asked, doing his best to stifle the pain in his voice.

"Uh huh! Tactical Combat AI M4 SOPMOD II at your service, Mister Commander! So when's the next mission?! I'm just  _itching_  to get my hands on those Sangvis bastards so badly right now!" the T-Doll replied in a frenzied manner.

"Errrr...could you - ack! - please get off me? You're - ghh! - crushing my stomaaaach...!" Green said to her in between a few grunts of pain. SOPMOD looked down at where she was sitting, making a surprised reaction upon doing so.

"Hau~? Oh. Ehe...sorry. Guess I got a little excited..." she said softly, yet still retaining the excited tone as she got off Green and kneeled down beside him.

"Are you okay, komandir?" Navika asked, looking down on him.

"Well, I'm still alive. Does that count?" he replied, clutching his stomach in pain.

"So this is what you were trying to tell us, Rex? That this one's crazy?" he said towards the AI.

"You only got the hint now?" Rex answered, chuckling shortly after.

Green shook his head and rolled his eyes as the AI laughed.  _"How do the other commanders deal with this asshole?"_ he thought.

"You okay, commander? Need some surgery?" the T-Doll asked Green, still retaining the childish tone. He raised a hand as he clutched his stomach with the other.

"I'm fine, I'm fine...uhhh...SOPMOD, right? You haven't killed me yet..." he muttered as he put down the hand and dragged himself to the side of the control panel where he sat up in pain and leaned on it for support.

"Don't do that again! Augh! I'm not a robot like you! Don't you know your own strength?!" he said to her as he kept a hand on his stomach. SOPMOD crawled over beside him and kneeled.

"I...uhhh...i-is there anything I can, uhhh..." she said as her expression and voice started turning into worried ones.

"Just don't tackle me or anyone human again, alright?" Green muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, if you want I can get you some medical attention if she hurt you that bad," Rex said as he hovered low near Green, who frowned upon seeing the drone.

"Please don't tell me you're a doctor too..." the commander whined. "I'd rather have SOPMOD-"

"What?! Really?! Okay! I'll be right back!" the Dollrauser exclaimed as she immediately got up and ran out the exit, leaving everyone in the room stunned.

"Where...is she going?" Navika stuttered as she looked at the doors heading out.

"I dunno, but she'll come back. One thing I know about that one is that she acts like a hyperactive puppy around everyone she knows.  _Unless_  you get on her bad side..." the AI casually explained.

"Urrrrgh...if this is how she is normally then I do  _not_ want to see her angry then," Green groaned.

"Rex. Are the others anything like her too? You better tell me right now or I swear to God..."

"Nah. They're all pretty manageable. It's just SOPMOD who's somewhat hard to control."

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Green questioned the AI.

"Well...if I was I'd be building tension with y'all like earlier," Rex absentmindedly said as the next Dollrauser was brought over. The next one was the one dressed in a school uniform-esque outfit. She was wearing a brown, single-breasted blazer (Which seemed too big for her as it was just hanging on her shoulders despite it being buttoned up) with the letters "U.S." embroidered on its left collar over a white blouse. She had a blue pleated miniskirt on and a pair of white thigh-highs and brown school shoes. Her hair was brown with reddish highlights on the ends, tied up in two pigtails by two black ribbons. Her eye color was some shade of golden-yellow. Not a normal color but it was more normal than SOPMOD's.

"Anyway, let's get on with the introductions to your guns! This one's M14 EBR. A Vietnam classic, if I do say so myself, but this time, updated to modern standards," Rex explained.

"Anything special about this one?" Green asked.

"Nnnnnnno. Actually, nothing much to say about this one except that its digi-mind was derived from one that handled the original M14. Y'know, the one with the wooden stock."

"Personality?"

"A far cry from SOPMOD, that's for sure. I'm pretty confident that you'll like her," Rex answered as he started the activation process. A cable plugged itself into the back of the robot's head as the data was uploaded.

_[PROXY LINK DATA UPLOAD COMPLETE]_

_[DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1...]_

Green and Navika watched in anticipation as the previously dull eyes of the Dollrauser came to life with a small glow of the same color.

"H-Hu-aaah!" the Dollrauser said as she almost fell forward not unlike SOPMOD when she was set down by the holding rack, but this time, she managed to step forward to balance herself.

"Phew! Almost fell down there..." she said to herself as her eyes met with the sight of Green sitting against the control panel.

There was a brief silence as their eyes met.

"Hi there! You're-"

"AH! Oh my God are you okay?!" she exclaimed as she immediately rushed to Green's aid. She looked him over. The uniform...he must be her commander!

"Are you hurt?! Who did this to you?! Oh God... Don't worry, sir! Everything's going to be fine!" she panickingly said as she started glossing over Green's body to identify any bullet wounds.

"M14! Relax! I'm fine! I'm fine!" he said to her as he shook her shoulders.

"Auauauauauagh! Wha-?"

* * *

 "Ohhhh... so one of the other Dollrausers tackled you... S-SOPMOD, right?" she said as she tapped her chin.

"Pretty much."

"Judging from what Mr. Rex said, she must be one hell of a Rauser, huh?" she said as she smiled awkwardly. "Where did she run off to?"

"Don't know, really. Rex says she probably going to come back after a while," Green said as he shrugged.

"Actually she's in the kitchen right now," Rex spoke.

"What?" Green asked as he quickly turned his head to the AI. "What is she doing in the kitchen?!"

Rex projected a display of the CCTV feed from all cameras in the kitchen, which showed SOPMOD rummaging through the freezer, shoving blocks of ice of varying sizes into a large plastic bag.

"I-I think she's...making some sort of cold compress?" M14 stuttered as she watched in disbelief.

"That amount of ice is most likely too heavy to be used for that purpose," Navika said.

"No shit, Captain Obvious," Green muttered as he turned to M14. "See what I mean?"

"Ahahahaha... I'm sure things'll change for the better once we get to know each other..." M14 exasperatedly said as she scratched her head. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, commander. Enhanced Battle Rifle M14 at your service!"

"Thanks. Appreciate it," Green said to her as he nodded.

"Alriiiiight Greeno! Next Doll!" Rex said as the next T-Doll was brought over.

"Okay...maybe I should stand up now. Lest the next few get surprised by me sitting against the control panel like this," Green said as he pushed himself up, muttering a few "Ows" and "Acks". Navika and M14 rushed to his sides to help him up.

The next Dollrauser was also in similar dress, wearing a short-sleeved, dark purple longcoat over a cream white-colored blouse and USA flag-design necktie. She also had a similarly-colored pleated miniskirt with a dark-purple hem and thigh-highs, though she was wearing brown boots instead of school shoes.

"This one is M1911, the classic .45 caliber pistol every soldier's heard about. Digi-mind doesn't have much history behind it, though the type of gun it handles has seen quite a lot in the 220 years we've been using it," the AI explained.

"220 years? Wow, that's a long time," Green commented. "Must be a hell of a gun then."

"It's a reliable gun, y'know. And to think they made this gun to kill a bunch of drugged-up natives!" Rex replied.

"What?" Green reacted. "Is that true?" he asked towards Navika.

"It is," the Russian stoically answered, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "It was part of the reason why the gun was developed."

"Personality-wise, she's a very devoted one, so there shouldn't be any problems with dealing with her."

"So what kind of devoted are we talking here, Rex?" Green asked, which was met with a laugh from the AI.

"Nothing of the obsessed sort, I can guarantee. Might be a two-star, but the gun and the digi-mind are reliable as hell is what I mean," Rex explained as he started the activation process.

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_[DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1...]_

"H-aaah~!" the Dollrauser said as she stretched while stepping down from the platform. "Hoooh~ My, my how long has this one been off? I feel so stiff!" she said as she dusted herself off before turning to the side.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she saw Green and his attire. "Y-You must be my Commander! What a fateful encounter! Never in my imagination would I have expected to meet you so soon!" she said before saluting.

"M1911 reporting for duty!"

"Errr...okay," Green silently muttered as he stepped forward while clutching his stomach. "Well, it's nice to meet you, M1911. I'm-"

"Green, right?"

Green sighed.

"Yes, that's what everyone calls me, apparently," he exasperatedly said. "Actually my name is James, but it's not like anyone cares..." he muttered.

"Your name is James?" M14 asked. "Why does everyone call you Green then?"

"I have no idea," Green replied with a confused and tired look. "You should ask everyone back at HQ. For some reason they all refer to me as 'Green'. Is it because I'm a civvie?"

"You weren't a soldier?" M1911 chimed in. "That's...odd. Normally every commander we get is a former law enforcement or military person."

"I applied for an accounting position, but somehow I got transferred over to commanding shit. But hey, at least the pay is good, considering that I'm working for GK," Green said as he shrugged.

"So, uhhh, are you, like, sure about this? The paramilitary life isn't all just counting and stuff," M14 asked in a concerned tone.

"Well it's too late for me to quit now. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll get the hang of all this pseudo-military hoohaa. A job is a job."

"If that's the case..." M1911 said as she tapped a foot while having her hands on her hips. "Then I have no choice but to pour all my effort into every mission for you, James!"

 _"Whaaa-?"_ Green thought as he looked weirdly at M1911. "Oh, uhhh, well thanks, uhhh, M1911..." he said as he awkwardly smiled.

"Okay...now that you say it, it feels kind of weird having you address me on a first-name basis, to be honest."

"Oh, well..." M1911 trailed off.

"Let's just keep it at Co-"

"How about 'Darling' then?"

Green's jaw dropped as Navika raised an eyebrow. M14 looked on in surprise as the room went silent.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Ahahaha! Alright, Darling it is!" M1911 cheerfully said as Green facepalmed and M14 scratched her head. Navika closed her eyes and shook her head as Rex laughed.

* * *

"This one is Ithaca M37. Once again, not much history on the digi-mind, but the gun it uses has quite a long one," Rex explained as he brought the next Dollrauser frame to the platform. This one was the one who was wearing a black and cream white tube dress that barely covered her breasts, with a black and orange jacket, orange and black thigh-highs, high heels(?) and a sort of cap of similar color. She had long, waist-length light brown hair and orange eyes. Her left forearm's synthetic skin was removed as the collapsible tactical shield was incorporated into it, showing off the new-looking shiny metal of her endoskeleton arm.

_"That's a lot of orange..."_

"The M37 here is based off the Remington Model 17, which was designed by John Browning, who I'm sure you're  _very_  familiar with, M1911."

M1911 smiled. "Well he is technically my daddy, and I'm very grateful for him making me."

"The shotgun was considered one of the best shotguns in the world, the ones made by the gun company in the old USA being considered the cream of the crop. It's the oldest pre-World War 2 shotgun that's still in production. They've been making these guys for almost 200 years!"

 _"Wow. These guns are ancient...well, the designs, that is,"_ the commander thought.

"So how is the digi-mind?"

"Hmmmm...how do I put this... She isn't crazy, but she acts sort of like a beauty queen? The record isn't very clear, but hey at least she isn't some sort of dominatrix," the AI stated as it commenced the activation process.

"Excuse me, what?" Green muttered. "Did I just hear that ri-"

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_[DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1...]_

"O-oh~!" M37 said as she quickly held onto the control panel to keep herself from falling forward after the restraints released her. "Oh my...almost falling down upon activation...how inelegant of me..." she quietly said to herself as she stepped down from the platform.

"M37, I presume?" Green spoke to her, getting her attention as she smoothed out her dress.

"Hm?" she articulated as she looked up at him, glossing over his uniform. "Ah~ I assume you are my commander, hmm~?" she asked, leaning forward with her hands on her hips with a warm smile.

"Well, duh..." he trailed off, keeping his eyes firmly on hers to avoid looking at her..."assets". Ithaca noticed and giggled.

"Ufufufu, commander~ No need to be ashamed. Please, admire me to the fullest. Ithaca M37, ready to have a good time," she said to him playfully, giving an equally playful salute, causing Green to look at her strangely. Navika rolled her eyes and shook her head. M14 blushed and facepalmed in embarrassment while M1911 tried to hold back her laughter. Rex, meanwhile, just carried on looking at the last Dollrauser's data.

"O-kaaaaaayyyy... So how should I address you? 'Ithaca', 'M37' or...?"

"Just 'Ithaca' is fine, commander. So should I address you as 'Commander' or-?"

"C-Commander is fine!" he immediately spoke. "J-Just call me Commander."

Green didn't need anymore nicknames, that's for sure.

"H-Hi!" M14 greeted. Ithaca turned around to see her and M1911.

"Oh, why hello there! Fellow comrades, I presume~?"

"Eyup! I'm M1911!" M1911 said as she pointed to herself before pointing to M14. "She's M14! It's nice to meet a fellow American!"

"M14  _EBR_ , specifically..." M14 said as she held out a hand. "Welcome to the team, ehe."

"Very much obliged. It's nice to know that I've got some countrymen as company," Ithaca said as she shook the Gewehrauser's hand. "So are we the only three here or...?"

"Actually, there's still two others. SOPMOD and Uzi," Green answered. "SOPMOD was the first...though she ran off to do  _something_... Uzi, though, she's that one over there," he said as he pointed at the last Doll frame on the conveyor line.

"I see," Ithaca commented as they looked at Uzi's inactive frame. "Hmm, she looks like quite a bold one, but not as glamorous as yours truly..." the Doll said with a smug look on her face.

"Speaking of SOPMOD...hey Rex, where is she right now?" Green asked.

"Lemme check..."

The AI brought up a holographic screen and flicked through different displays of CCTV feed, stopping at the kitchen's. The storage area was somewhat ransacked, with multiple ripped pieces of plastic bags laying around. SOPMOD could be seen with her back turned to the camera, working on something on a metal table with more pieces of plastic and a mound of melting ice chunks.

"...deeeefinitely some sort of compress," M14 muttered as they looked at the footage.

"So that's...SOPMOD..." Ithaca said softly as she looked in surprise.

"Guess we should wrap up the introductions before she comes back," Green said as Rex turned off the screen and had the conveyor rack bring Uzi's frame over to the platform. "So once we're done all of you can already be familiar with each other before we do any missions."

"Ah, the Uzi," Rex spoke as the rack locked in place above the platform. "Designed by its namesake, Major Uziel Gal in the 1940s and adopted by the Jews in the 1950s, gun's known as the most bought SMG in the law enforcement and military market. Got several clones of the thing too, though I hear they're pretty rare and hard to identify since they're exact copies and shit."

"Popular gun, huh?" Green said.

"Definitely popular. Most of our SMG-type PDWs are based off its design and a few others combined, so technically it's still in production! After all, we've bought almost all the companies that used to make every gun we use."

"Wait, what?" M1911 asked. "Y-You bought the companies that made us? All of us?"

"I didn't, LOL," the AI replied. "But yeah, GK did over the past few years. In other words, you're all our property!"

"W-Wow..." M14 astonishedly said as she put a hand to her chest. "GK leveled up..."

"I guess now you guys can see why I didn't back out when they informed me about getting accepted into commanding," Green said as he shrugged. "Their pay here is really high."

"Back to Uzi..." Rex chimed in. "Personality-wise...ehhhh, she can be a bit 'tsundere-ish'."

"What?" Green asked in deadpan. "What does that mean?"

"It's a Japanese term. Means that she can act prickly at times and then act all concerned and shit after a while, though on the field she's decent enough."

"Huh...Japanese, eh? Haven't heard that language in a while. Shame what happened to the country..."

"Unfortunate, yes," Navika spoke. "I could say the same for Oceania."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Ithaca asked. "Did something happen to the Japanese?"

"And the Australians and New Zealanders?" M14 followed.

"Hey Rex. They didn't get any geopolitical data updates?" Green asked the AI. It seemed as if the combat AIs had no idea about the current state of the world judging from their questions. An odd observation on Green's part. He assumed that they would also have some sort of update on the current events.

"Well, this is the first time we're using them so they're just fresh off the main cloud," the AI replied. "We don't have a 'news data update' feature, since the suits decided that it was unnecessary for combat AIs to know about world news unless their commanders choose to."

"Maybe we should get on with Uzi's activation before we get into any more detail. So that we won't have to repeat ourselves to her and SOPMOD," Green said as he scratched his head.

"Please do. I'm quite curious about what happened to the world while we were inactive," Ithaca said. M1911 and M14 nodded in agreement.

"A'ight, starting her up."

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_[DOLLRAUSER ACTIVATION IN 3...2...1...]_

"Mm? Oh, I'm on," Uzi said after her visual sensors booted up. She quickly caught sight of the three Dollrausers and the two other personnel and singular hovering drone in the room. Judging from the man's uniform, he was definitely the person-in-charge.

"Errr...uh, hi? Are you three my teammates or something?" she asked the three as she got down from the rack and platform. Her accent was noticeably different from the previous three, being noticeably foreign-sounding.

"Uh huh!" M1911 replied. "I'm M1911. This glamorous Doll here is Ithaca and the other one is M14!"

"Hey, welcome to the team!" M14 said as she waved her hand. Ithaca just smiled.

"All-Americans huh?" the SMG said as she put her hands on her hips. "Well at least I'm not working with a bunch of Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians. Last time that happened..." she said before trailing off into an awkward laugh.

"Hey you!" she said towards Green. "You my new boss, right?"

"I'm the only guy here wearing this uniform so obviously," he replied as he approached her.

"Hmmm...I don't know if it's just me, but it's like there's something off about you..." she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"You look the look, but you don't walk the walk. Know what I mean?" she said as she rubbed her chin.

"Errrr...what?" the confused commander asked he scratched his head.

"N-Never mind... i-it's nothing!" Uzi muttered, pouting.

"Let me guess... I think it's because you think I'm not former military, right?" Green asked her.

"Yes! That's exactly what I-" she suddenly bursted out before pausing. "W-Wait! You...y-you aren't?"

Green facepalmed and sighed. "Oh boy...looks like I gotta do some more explaining-"

"I'm back, commandeeeeeeerr!" SOPMOD yelled as she burst into the room, holding what appeared to be crudely-made ice pack composed of multiple ripped plastic sheets wrapped tightly around a square chunk of compressed ice chunks, which were all wrapped again with a plastic bag which was taped together with copious amounts of duct tape.

* * *

 **BGM:** [Lazy Hangar - Jukio Kallio (Luftrausers OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD2o3VZtXvM))

* * *

Everyone's attention was drawn to the T-Doll as she skipped towards Green with the ice pack in her hands. M14, M1911, Ithaca and Uzi watched in a combination of surprise, shock and bewilderment. Navika remained stoic as usual.

"Aaaand she has returned..." Green heard Rex whisper as the AI snickered, at him, expectedly.

"For you, sir~!" she excitedly said as she presented the ice pack to Green, who looked at it and her warily. "It should help with the swelling, if I'm not mistaken! Just keep it on there and the pain should go away! Don't put it directly on your skin, though~!"

"Th-Thanks...errrr...S-SOPMOD..." he said as he took the ice pack and awkwardly held it on top of the painful area on his abdomen. "Well it does somewhat feel better I guess..."

"Wow...she's so...white," M1911 whispered.

"Are those horns?" M14 muttered. "Oh wait, they're headphones... Some really strange headphones..."

 _"An odd Doll, she is..."_ Ithaca thought to herself, choosing to remain quiet.  _"At least she's...quite enthusiastic to say the least."_

"Weiiiirdooooooo..." Uzi silently muttered.

"You're welcome, commandeeeer~!" SOPMOD said as she gave Green the most eager smile possible.

Green looked at Navika, expecting a reaction. His adjutant glanced back, giving him a shrug.

"We still need to have you checked out, Green," she said to him quietly. "Can never be too sure."

"I know, I know," he answered, sighing afterwards.

Meanwhile, SOPMOD turned her attention to the four other Expendable Modular Tactical Dolls. "Yaaaaaay~! New comrades!"

The four briefly glanced at each other worriedly.

"H-Hi! S-SOPMOD, r-right?" M14 spoke up. "We've...uh...we've heard a lot about you! Ahahaha..." she said awkwardly.

"I'm M14 EBR..." she said, stepping forward cautiously.

"She's M1911, that one's Ithaca and the last one is Uzi," the Gewehrauser said as she pointed to each respective Dollrauser. M1911 waved, Ithaca smiled (Somewhat uncomfortably) and Uzi said a simple "Errr...hey."

"Let's shake hands!" the Sturmrauser exclaimed as she quickly grabbed M14's left hand and shook it with both of hers.

 _"Woah! Okaay...she's very straight to the point,"_ M14 thought as she gave an awkward smile. SOPMOD moved on to each of the other three, with only M1911 not expressing a bit of discomfort, though it seemed that SOPMOD didn't notice Ithaca and Uzi's reactions, or maybe she just didn't care.

Or maybe she just didn't see, thanks to her eyes being closed as she smiled excitedly.

"Wow! Almost all of us here are American! Fuck yeah!" SOPMOD exclaimed. "I can't wait for all of us to play together!"

"That's what she calls it, huh?" Green muttered quietly.

"Calls what?" Navika asked.

"Well the only other thing I can equate 'playing' to with these Dollrausers is fighting in combat, am I right, Rex?" Green said towards the AI.

"Well, you ain't wrong there, chief," Rex replied as the three watched the five gynoids as they tried to keep up conversation with SOPMOD, with M14 being the one mostly trying.

"Okay, so now that we're done with this shit, what's ne-"

Green was suddenly cut off by a loud, urgent-sounding alarm coming from his company-supplied tablet. The alarm lights in the room also started flashing.

"What the fuck?! What's going on?!" Green wondered as he immediately pulled out the tablet. The screen was flashing with a notification that read [EMERGENCY_OPERATION_RECEIVED].

* * *

 **BGM:** [Briefing 1 - Keiki Kobayashi (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShyP2380Z2U&t=864s)

* * *

 "Emergency op has been issued by Client: V. Konovalev to all commanders in the vicinity of the op," Rex stated in a serious tone, surprising Green with his change in demeanor. "Commander. I'm starting up the emergency briefing procedure since we're too far away from the Command Room."

Rex projected a holographic screen, showcasing a display of the globe. Other data included the current mission situated on a tab to the right of the display, current available Dollrausers, and all available support assets. On the bottom was a news ticker, while on the left were empty displays for the available support personnel's live video stream.

"Komandir," Navika said as she got Green's attention. "Briefing procedure?" she said as she motioned her head towards the Dollrausers, who were waiting for his orders.

"O-Oh, right," he muttered as he turned to them, remembering what he was instructed during training. "Rausers, form up for briefing!"

The five Dollrausers quickly stood at attention in front of the holographic screen, with the commander and his adjutant quickly moving to sand beside it. Green remembered the other personnel on the base and assumed that they weren't informed of the emergency.

"Rex, have you-"

"I've already notified the others and dispatched more of my avatars, they'll be on right about..."

The empty displays immediately activated, showing the other base personnel via live drone camera footage from their workplaces. Heydrich was on the roof, the mechanics were in the Vehicle Bay and the pilots were in the cafeteria.

"...now."

"Waitin' on yer orders, boss!" Bella spoke.

"Alright guys, since this is an urgent mission I'll be doing most of the explaining, in accordance to protocol," Rex spoke.

"At around 1500 hours, five hours after departing from Supply Base Shakhovskaya, our commanding officer and client, Major Viktor Konovalev, submitted an emergency rescue operation request. His supply convoy, based on the details, has been and is currently under attack by a Sangvis - Ferri convoy raiding unit of significant strength."

"Yay! We're going on a mission!" SOPMOD exclaimed. "I can't wait to get my hands on 'em!"

The global display zoomed in at their current location before moving on to Konovalev's last location, which was near the former town of Novopetrovskoye.

"Knowing the Sangvis - Ferri's usual composition for these kinds of units, it's likely that we will be encountering several squads of a mixed force of Ripper, Vespid and Jaeger-type infantry drones. It's rare for them to have vehicular units deployed along, but we should still expect some light infantry support such as Scout Drones and Prowlers. This is just a generalization, though. Since Major Konovalev most likely issued this in the heat of the moment we have no actual idea of what we're going to face out there."

The screen brought up pictures of the aforementioned Sangvis - Ferri units. The Vespids, Rippers and Jaegers all looked like genderless and faceless humanoid combat robots similar to the C-Dolls used by the Army, but with a more sleeker, uniform design in comparison to the rugged look of the G&K-manufactured robots, though they still had distinct visual differences to tell the types apart:

The Vespids' heads resembled an enclosed helmet with a thin visor. Their chassis had a balanced amount of armor in comparison to the other two, making them look a bit bigger than the other two types. Being considered the basic footsoldier of the SF forces and their analogue to the Sturmrausers, they were armed with built-in, right arm-mounted assault rifles that fired 5.45x39mm armor-piercing, high explosive rounds reverse-engineered from captured Soviet Army stockpiles and factories. This left their left arms to contain integrated arm blades for close combat.

The Rippers' were similar, but the visor was larger. Their armor was lesser than the Vespids' to a degree, which allowed them faster movement and gave them a thinner appearance compared to the Vespids. Similar to the Vespids, their arms had submachineguns derived from reverse-engineered caseless weapons captured from deceased EAF special forces installed into each, which left them without any sort of close-combat weapon aside from their enhanced hydraulic strength. Obviously not a problem, as their dual SMGs would potentially make quick work of any adversary thanks to their fire rate...if aimed at vital areas, of course.

The Jaegers' heads had three circular visual sensors installed on their "faces", with the one in the middle being the largest. Presumably specialized ocular sensors for sharpshooter use. They had almost little to no armor to allow them high mobility for quick tactical repositioning. This obviously meant that they were the weakest in terms of damage resistance, but their 14.5x14mm anti-materiel rifles proved deadly to anything that came hunting for them.

The vehicles had their own unique looks as well. The Prowlers were autonomous high-caliber autocannons mounted on armored wheeled quadrupedal chassis while the Scout Drones looked like hovering triangles. Originally designed as security patrol drones during SF's past as a fellow PMC, they were upgunned into the light-armored, 20mm autocannon-armed infantry terrorizer everyone knew. A well-coordinated group could tear up an unsupported C-Doll squad in seconds, although against tanks, they were easy pickings. The Scout Drones too, had come a long way. The eyes and ears of SF's reconnaissance network were still armed with weak weaponry for self-defense, namely a small machine gun that fired 5.56mm rounds a few HE rockets that did negligible damage unless they attacked in swarms. They were still also weak in terms of damage they could take, but this was all offset by their incredible stealth capabilities. Near-silent engines and ECM meant that the Scout Drones could only be detected by the keenest of sensors, making them even more annoying little bastards.

"Being a rescue mission, there's no need to draw any major plans since we can directly observe mission progress and make tactical decisions from the Command Room. So Green, I hope you still remember your basic tactics!"

"Ha ha, Rex," Green said as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway. For deployment, Commander, we will be using the drone variant of the Eurocopter EMi-30 helicopter. After all, since everyone under the Major's employ will be participating in this mission, one Rauser squad will suffice," the AI said. "Vehicle Bay. Pilots. You know the drill."

"Affirmative, Rex. We'll get that drone ready for action," Jacinto replied. "Bella! Let's get that tarp off!'

"Aye, boss!" the Scot answered as both of them ran out of view.

"Read ya loud and clear, Rexy! Mickey, looks like you can sit this one out!" Jesse said to his Russian coworker, who just grunted and left, with Jesse himself following suit.

"What about the mission grading?" Green asked.

 _"'Mission grading?' Our missions are graded?"_  M14 thought as she raised an eyebrow while looking at Green.

"Oh, heh heh. Riiiiiight," Rex snickered. "Don't need to worry about that. Due to the nature of this mission, every participating base gets a set credit amount as a reward."

"How much?" the commander asked.

"500,000 euros," the AI answered in a nonchalant manner. Upon hearing the words, M14 noticed Green's eyebrows raise up.

"Well, shieeeeet," the commander remarked, the surprised expression on his face slowly turning into a slightly devious smile. "If every mission gives out that much...hehe..."

The Gewehrauser regarded Green's seemingly uncharacteristic expression with worry.  _"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this..."_

"A'ight, let's go through the mission loadout before we begin now, shall we?"

* * *

 **BGM:** [Going to War - Jukio Kallio (Luftrausers OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL8-e0B6fcE)

* * *

Rex's hologram display cleared out the map as it showed five horizontal rectangular panels. Each panel had an image of the respective guns who were already deployed on the left, with their statistics and modification displayed on the rest of the panel.

"Just a quick run-through. So of course, this is where you can customize your troops' mods or who you want to deploy. We've already got them out, and since they're the only ones we've got at the moment that means choosing is outta the picture. We got no mods either, so that's out too. Of course, you can always avail for more of these-"

"*sigh* Through the company store, right?" Green asked.

"Yuuuup. Could see it from a mile away, eh?" the AI said as it chuckled.

"We can get mods?" SOPMOD suddenly asked. "YES! What kinds of mods are they?! I can think of a lotta good combinations! Gimme the list! Gimme! Gimme!" she said as she started jumping up and down in excitement. The other Dollrausers stepped aside awkwardly to give her some space.

"Well somebody's excited to show off the 'MOD' in their name," Rex remarked.

"Hey, SOPMOD. You...uhh...girls still have a mission to do, you know. I won't be able to buy mods if we lose our boss, especially on the first day of my job," Green said to her.

"Then...okay! Alriiiight, let's go! Let's start already!" SOPMOD said as she impatiently shook her fists in front of her. "I'm so bored! I wanna rip their wires out one by one!"

"I guess I have to agree with her, Commander. I think we've wasted enough time already," M14 said, the battle riflewoman twirling a lock with her finger.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited myself! Can't wait to shoot some Sangvis!" M1911 said as Ithaca yawned.

"SOPMOD has a point. That briefing wasn't very engaging, even with that urgent-sounding music that was playing..." the shotgunner said, combing her artificial hair with her hand.

"Ehhh...what they said," the Israeli SMG muttered as she shrugged. "We should really get a head start."

"Looks like they're all ready," Navika spoke as she lit a cigarette. "Rex?"

"Okay, girls. Get back in the racks. I'll have your guns 3D-printed and all of you in the transport as fast as possible. Our paycheck's on the line!" the AI said spiritedly.

"You heard him, girls. We'll be in contact once you reach the deployment point," Green said. The five Dollrausers nodded in agreement and climbed back into their holding racks, the restraints snapping back in place.

"Our guns are 3D-printed now? W-Wow..." M14 said to herself. "Things have really advanced since then, huh?"

"Oh, by the way. I'm going to have to put y'all on standby in the meantime. Don't wanna waste all that battery power now, do we?" Rex said as he hovered in front of them.

"That's fine. It'd be really boring if we wait the whole trip," M1911 replied.

"A beauty sleep would be perfect for any wait," Ithaca stated. "Helps to be refreshed before we finally get at those filthy Sangvis dogs."

"Green. Navi," Rex said as he turned his avatar back to them. "Now's a great time to head on over to the Command Room. Let's get our asses movin'!"

"Couldn't say it any better myself," Green muttered as they turned and headed to the exit.

"Have a nice nap, ladies! You're all gonna need it!" Rex said to the Dollrausers as he followed the two out.

Once again, the five gynoids' eyes lost their lively glow and went dull, their heads lowering accordingly as they were all brought back in to the manufacturing area once again to be fitted with their guns.


End file.
